- India's retail inflation rose to 5.54% in September, the highest in the new CPI series
- Food inflation surged to 7.74% in September, driven by sharp rises in onion and spices
- Onion prices increased by 108.09% year-on-year, the steepest rise among tracked items
India's retail inflation accelerated to 5.54% in September, its highest level in the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) series, as a sharp increase in food prices pushed up household expenses.
Onion prices more than doubled year-on-year, while ginger, garlic and lemon also recorded steep inflation, according to provisional government data released on Monday.
CPI inflation rose from 4.83% in August to 5.54% in September. Food inflation climbed even faster, reaching 7.74% from 5.97% in the previous month, making food the central pressure point in the latest reading.
Onion prices recorded the steepest increase among the major items tracked by the government. Onion inflation surged to 108.09% in September from 48.78% in August.
Ginger inflation stood at 62.85%, although it eased from 73.82% a month earlier. Garlic inflation accelerated to 54.62% from 43.60%, while lemon inflation rose to 36.41% from 15.15%.
The pressure was not limited to these vegetables. Silver jewellery recorded inflation of 87.80%, down from 106.81% in August.
Meanwhile, potato and tomato prices remained lower than a year earlier, with inflation at -11.50% and -8.62%, respectively.
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Rural Inflation Outpaces Urban Prices
The rise in food costs was more pronounced in rural areas. Rural CPI inflation increased to 6.08% in September from 5.24% in August, while urban inflation rose to 4.88% from 4.31%.
Rural food inflation reached 8.06%, compared with 7.18% in urban areas.
Beyond food, personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services recorded inflation of 13.75%.
Restaurants and accommodation services inflation stood at 9.36%, while transport inflation reached 5.01%. Housing and utilities inflation was comparatively moderate at 2.74%.
At the state level, Tamil Nadu reported the highest headline inflation at 6.81% among states with populations exceeding 50 lakh, followed by Odisha at 6.70% and Madhya Pradesh at 6.68%.
The September reading signals renewed pressure on household budgets, particularly for consumers facing higher food bills.
With inflation rising across both rural and urban India, the trajectory of vegetable prices will remain an important factor in determining whether price pressures ease in the coming months.
Also Read | RBI Raises FY27 CPI Inflation Forecast To 5.2% From 5%; Hikes Repo Rate To 5.50%
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